Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT Manila EN BANC G.R. No.

L-3970 October 29, 1952

GURBAX SINGH PABLA & CO., GURBAX SINGH PABLA, BELA SINGH PABLA, OJAGAR SINGH, DHARAM SINGH, TALOK SINGH and CIPRIANO TAN ENG KIAT, petitionersappellees, vs. HERMOGENES REYES and TEODORA TANTOCO, respondents-appellants.

The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court. Jose N. Buendia for appellants. Eliseo Caunca for appellees.
LABRADOR, J.: This is an appeal prosecuted by the respondents-appellants against an order of the Court of First Instance of Manila dated November 29, 1949, compelling them to surrender owner's duplicates of Transfer Certificates of Title Nos. 8071 and 8072, so that the contract of lease entered into between petitioners-appellees and the owner of the land covered by said certificates of title be annotated thereon. John Tan Chin Eng is the owner of the land covered by the above-mentioned certificates of title, he entered into a contract of lease with the petitioner-appellees. At the time that the contract was entered into there was an existing mortgage over the land in favor of Jose Calvo and Carlos Calvo. This mortgage in favor of the Calvos was cancelled, and a new mortgage was executed by the owner in favor of respondentsappellants herein, Honorable Hermogenes Reyes and his spouse Teodora Tantoco. The original contract of lease was amended. This amended contract of lease was also registered in the office of the Register of Deeds of Manila. On May 25, 1949, counsel for petitioners-appellees wrote respondents-appellants requesting them to allow him to take the certificates of title to the office of the Register of Deeds of Manila for the annotation of the contracts of lease entered into by the owner with them. The son of respondents-appellants acknowledged receipt of the said letter but informed counsel for the petitioner-appellees that the request could not be granted without the written consent of the owner of the certificates of title.

On June 3, 1949, the petitioners-appellees filed a motion in the Court of First Instance of Manila praying that an order issue to the owner for the delivery of the owner's duplicates of transfer certificates of title Nos. 8071 and 8072 to the petitioners in order that the Register of Deeds of Manila may be able to make the annotation thereon of the contract of lease. The only issue, therefore, is whether petitioners have a right to have said deeds registered. The purpose of registering an instrument is to give notice thereof to all persons (section 51, Act No. 496); it is not intended by the proceedings for registration to seek to destroy or otherwise affect already registered rights over the land, subsisting or existing at the time of the registration. The rights of these parties, who have registered their rights, are not put in issue when an instrument is subsequently presented for registration; nor are its effects on other instruments previously registered put in issue by the procedure of registration. The supposed invalidity of the contracts of lease is no valid objection to their registration, because invalidity is no proof of their non-existence or a valid excuse for denying their registration. The law on registration does not require that only valid instruments shall be registered. It must follow as a necessary consequence that registration must first be allowed, and validity or effect litigated afterwards. Wherefore, the opposition to the motion for the surrender of the certificates of title to the Register of Deeds of Manila is overruled, and the order appealed from, in so far as it orders the surrender of the certificates of title for the registration of the contracts of lease, is hereby affirmed, but the other rulings are reversed, and the other issues raised by respondents-appellants reserved for determination in a proper proceeding. With costs against the respondents-appellants.

Paras, C. J., Bengzon, Padilla, Montemayor and Jugo, JJ., concur.